A Rib-Cracking Bear Hug: The Russian Orthodox Church EMBRACES Gays

Two of the biggest problems Christian churches have today: people either blindly trust them OR... they don't trust them at all. I admit I'm one of the latter, but with good reason: I saw one of history's greatest hypocrisies play out before my very eyes in our own "Age of AIDS." No, I won't go into my story because a great many people already know it and for those who don't, here's an open invitation to contact me to find out why I am so mistrustful of organized religion. For argument's sake, however, let's just say that I know a little about the whys and wherefores of religious organizations.

From 365gay.com

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church says that, although the church views homosexuality as a sin, homosexuality is a personal choice.

Patriarch Kirill says gays and lesbians must not be persecuted or discriminated against in any way, though the church still opposes same-sex marriages.

The patriarch’s statements, a breakthrough for the Russian church, were made during a meeting Wednesday with visiting Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland.

Opposition to gay rights remains widespread in Russia, where homosexuality was decriminalized only in 1993.

Several high-profile Russian politicians have spoken against gay rights. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has described homosexuality as “satanic” and blamed homosexuals for spreading AIDS.

Some people have hailed the Patriarch's move as "embracing" while others look at it suspiciously: too little and waaaay too late. Russia's love affair with homophobia is so entrenched in the culture that patriarchs placing pink triangles on their foreheads would be met with derision and onion-domed churches set ablaze (for good measure). And although one could argue "it's better than nothing," we've heard that song before and it's rather depressing: "Second Hand Rose". It's as if gays are getting the crumbs off the table of Patriarch Kirill's table. One comment the Associated Press article got was quite apropos, although acidic in temperment:

Why do we care what is said by a group which believes in bronze age mythology about a sky deity who sends his son, who is really himself on a suicide mission so he doesn’t have to send everyone on earth into eternal burning torment? Talking snakes with feet? Guys living inside of giant fishes? It’s like some sort of really badly written and edited science fiction novel. And yet we listen to what they have to say about us? Why? I don’t give a rat’s ass what they think. The sooner they drift into the debris of history, the better off we will all be.

The last two sentences are a bit too negative. The part that I focused on immediately: "And yet we listen to what they have to say about us?" Yes, we do. Or more correctly, yes, they do. And they outnumber us. They are high on self-righteousness. They glory in their "true church" hubris.

The embrace? ...hypocrisy. If they think gays are sinners who choose to sin, then why the anti-discrimination, anti-persecution declaration? Is it possible that the church is making slow moves towards full acceptance? Possible, but not likely. The compassion that is stated by organized religion could very well be a smokescreen: it's the "love the sinner, hate the sin" meme used to lull and dull.

Cynical? Of course. Cautious? Yes. And although we'll have to wait and see how much effect their "compassionate" declaration has on the Russian public, I should give everyone a caveat here:

Don't hold your breath.

Glen Beck Is Officially Crowned King Of Fools So Now We...Cry!

As I've said many times in this blog, hatred makes people stupid, so it's really no surprise that the crying pundit, Glen Beck, has been given the very dubious honor of being named "Misinformer of the Year" by Media Matters, the media watchdog. (And lest anyone think it's a strictly left wing media promoter, check out the stuff that they have on Obama!) The stupidity comes when Beck tries to pawn off his misinformation as actual truth. Look at just some of Beck's statements analyzed (and corrected) by Politifact.org and their "truth-o-meter":

Labor union president Andy Stern is "the most frequent visitor" at the White House.
Politifact: Only if you use incomplete, outdated data

Less than 10 percent of Obama's Cabinet appointees "have any experience in the private sector."
Politifact: Most of them do, to varying degrees

"In the health care bill, we're now offering insurance for dogs."

Politifact: No public option for Bo

John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, "has proposed forcing abortions and putting sterilants in the drinking water to control population."

Politifact: Holdren never endorsed these ideas

Forty-five percent of doctors "say they'll quit" if health reform passes

Politifact: A questionable assertion based on questionable data

"Why do we have automatic citizenship upon birth? We're the only country in the world that has it."

Politifact: Brazil, Canada, Guatamala, Romania...

When viewing Beck as a baffoon, one can't help but laugh at him and the people who adore him (yes, that's the right word). Mark Twain once said: "Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand." The problem with Beck as I see it, is that we're laughing at the wrong person. Beck enjoys the laughter he gets from his critics. In fact, it energizes him. His ego is still growing and he loves every minute of derision. However, we should be laughing at the people who watch/listen to his shows. They should be cringing with humiliation.

So we should hoist aloft a campaign to make sure that America knows Beck's audience to have the cumulative IQ of a dead flashlight battery. We should have SNL sketches devoted to idiots watching Glen Beck. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert should devote whole segments on Glen Beck supporters with misspelled signs, interviews with illiterate Beckies across the country, and special features about how some of them are paying $500 a drop for Beck's tears (Vicks Vaporub not included).

Nah, it won't float. Why not? Because Beckies transcend humiliation: they are too stupid to even surmise that someone is laughing at them.

So what should we do with this large crowd (according to his ratings) of idiots?

The King of Fools Has Been Crowned! Long Live The King!!!

There is nothing we can do, except ... cry.

Merry Christmas From the SFFP (San Francisco Faerie Portal)

It's one hour into Christmas Eve and I don't know why I'm writing this except for the good feeling in telling anyone, everyone that someone out there is still trying to love you.

Trying?

I won't be a hypocrite even on Christmas Eve: I won't tell you how we all have the potential to love everyone. To hate everyone, yes. Hate is a man-made emotion so therefore man sets the limits on hate. Unfortunately, he hasn't set very many limits yet. Love, however, is something etched into in our souls. Love embraces humanity. But even though we are born with an endless amount of love for everyone, it is difficult to love anyone. Love itself does not have barriers, but encounters them every day: barriers to the way someone is supposed to look to us, to the way we are treated, to the way we are accepted. Skin, teeth, eyes, body shape, height, smell, clothes, environment, friends, employment, status all work to set up walls against unconditional love.

So we can only try our best to overcome these barriers. We can only try to love everyone.
Maybe the attempt is enough.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Warren: "Uganda Have Heart!" Uganda: "Damn Yankees!"

When Exporting Homophobia Backfires

(14 hours ago) Ugandan mobs call for passing "Kill Gays" bill

Led by religious leaders, Ugandan protesters marched to demand that the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill be passed.

Several hundred people demonstrated in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Tuesday against gays and lesbians, and expressed support for the country’s impending tough anti-homosexual law.

The protesters, led by born-again clerics, cultural leaders, and university undergraduates, marched to the parliament where they presented a petition.

"Ya know, it's like you can help some guys a lot, but when YOU need something, it's like talk to the hand, ya know?"

That's my inner Chicagoland self-assessing the Rick Warren/Uganda situation. While in my inner self, I can look at everything as either black or white, but this new situation with Rick Warren and the upcoming vote for a law that puts harsher punishments on gays in Uganda is so complicated I've had to wade through it as if I were slogging through a swamp.

In terms we mere mortals can understand:

• Rick Warren gains popularity in Uganda by assisting in obtaining AIDS medical supplies and other necessities.
  
• Warren curries favor with Ugandan President Museveni and his wife. He also meets Martin Ssempe whose sole mission in life seems to be the obliteration of evil by killing as many homosexuals as possible. They strike up a friendship and for the next several years, Ssempe is invited to squeak at Warren's Saddleback Church.
• Ssempe, of course, is overwhelmed by the whole package: a multimillion best-seller (second to his own beloved Bible), a megachurch that doesn't look like a church (unless African churches have skateboard parks), respect, prestige and money $.
• Something happens between the two mega-personalities and Ssempe drops out of Warren's radar range.
• The Kampala anti-gay conference begins in March.
• Exodus, International attends the conference then later withdraws from ideologies encompassing the genocide of gays.
• By Sept. 15, an anti-gay bill is circulating the nation. Consequently, news of the draft is leaked out of the country, at which time Rick Warren would have known about it (if not before)
• By Nov. 15, definite sides have formed: Uganda clerics calling for quick passage of the bill, while statesmen are denouncing it. The bill's links to American evangelical groups and politicians prove that those groups are exporting homophobia.
• Nov. 30 - Rick Warren refuses to denounce the bill.
• Dec. 15 -Rick Warren, under pressure, finally delivers "encyclical video" denouncing he bill.Under pressure.
  

Martin Ssempe responds to Rick Warren's denunciation

"As you yourself have said, '..the Bible says evil has to be opposed. Evil has to be stopped. The Bible does not say negotiate with evil. It says stop it. Stop evil'. (12/2007) Since homosexuality is evil, you cannot possibly be against a law that seeks to stop it unless you have misunderstood it."

And in a letter from 20 prominent Uganda pastors:

"We note with sadness the increasing levels of accepting of the evil of homosexuality," they state. "In these increasingly dark days, we encourage you not to give into the temptation to water down what the Bible says so as not to offend people."

The text of the "Kill Gays" bill is HERE.

Now the Uganda Christofascists want an apology from Warren:

Christian Post:

"Your letter has caused great distress and the pastors are demanding that you issue a formal apology for insulting the people of Africa by your very inapropriate (sic) bully use of your church and purpose driven pulpits to coerse us into the 'evil' of Sodomy and Gaymorrah (sic)," the pastors, which include Martin Ssempa, state in a letter emailed to Warren.

From RH Reality Check

Martin Ssempe's letter to Rick Warren:

Africa101: Homosexuality is illegal, unnatural, ungodly and un-African: In Uganda as most of the global South, homosexuality is an “evil and repugnant sexual act” ...

We are harrassed by a massive invasion of rich Europeans and Americans groups who are scorning our traditional African view of marriage and family, bullying and threatening to cut off “aid” if we dont legalise the sins of Sodom and Gommorrah! We are troubled by some members western media which is obsessed with homosexuality.

When you came to Uganda on Thursday, 27 March 2008, and expressed support to the Church of Uganda’s boycott of the pro-homosexual church of England, you stated; “The Church of England is wrong, and I support the Church of Uganda”.

You are further remembered to say, “homosexuality is not a natural way of life and thus (its) not a human right. We shall not tolerate this apect at all”.

Let's see Rick Warren gets out of this one! He won't. He'll offer vague platitudes to both sides, but Christianity in America ( as well as humanist/secular groups) and the Christian Right in Africa will look askance at Warren from now on: he will eventually be forgiven, but they will never forget.

"My influence in that nation has been greatly exaggerated by the media."

THIS LAST STATEMENT:

... belies the fact that, according to Rev. Kapya Kaoma (an Anglican pastor from Zambia and the author of a recent report on gays in Africa) Warren has immense influence among Uganda's political élite, and the First Lady. "He eats with them, he knows what goes on, they respect him," said Kaoma in a conference call.

So Rick Warren is now, as they say, between a rock and a hard place. He and the rest of the Christofascist Right gambled on a gullible public in one country and an uninformed public in another. Now they're success in exporting homophobia is coming back to bite them.

Bite hard, Uganda, bite HARD!

Viva MEXICO CITY! The Catholic Church's New Satan!

Changing The Definition Of Marriage!!

Mexico City: the eighth richest city in the world, home to one of the world's largest GDPs, capital of the world's second largest Roman Catholic Church enclave is about to become the new Satan to the Vatican. Today, December 22, Marcelo Ebrard, Head of Government of the Federal District (loosely translated in the US as "mayor" but with considerably more national power) will be signing a bill of total equality for same-sex marriages:

Pam's House Blend:

The bill calls for changing the definition of marriage in the city's civil code. Marriage is currently defined as the union of a man and a woman. The new definition will be "the free uniting of two people."

The change would allow same-sex couples to adopt children, apply for bank loans together, inherit wealth and be included in the insurance policies of their spouse, rights they were denied under civil unions allowed in the city. ...

wikipedia:

The 2000 census reported that Mexico had some 101,456,786 Catholics among the population aged five and above, which equates to around 91% of the total population, making the second largest Roman Catholic country in the world after Brazil.

LGBT community:

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights in Mexico have expanded in recent years, in keeping with worldwide legal trends.

...[However]The social environment in most of Mexico remains repressive, and often dangerous. Machista ideals of manly appearance and behavior contribute to extreme prejudices against LGBT people, especially effeminate men, and often to violence against them. Lack of interest in investigating such cases is common and police often assumes that homosexuals are responsible for the attacks against them. The Roman Catholic teaching that homosexuality is a sin further contributes to intolerance, and is seen to provide moral sanction for mistreatment.

But the capitulation of Mexico City to justice and tolerance will sound a loud alarm to the Catholic Church: Pope Benny will not be amused. Prior to this, he called Mexico a country that has been "forged over the centuries in a fruitful relationship with the message of salvation proclaimed by the Catholic Church."And as Mexico City goes, so will the rest of the country - eventually taking away much of the church's hold on the country ...and its money.

The Vatican must act quickly on this one - and diplomatically. It can't exactly call Mexico City a commie-pinko hot-bed of leftist lust and depravity yet it must support Mexico's hinterlands and its overall intolerance of gays.

This should be an interesting week. And fun, too!

Oral Roberts Gets Taken By God While Rod Parsley Gets Taken To The Cleaners

As a tribute to the late Oral Roberts, Rod Parsley decided to make a plea for money because the supernatural was involved in his shaky finances. It was Oral Roberts who told his TV flock that "God was going to call me back" if he didn't raise $8m for his ministry. He actually raised the money on that line (one donor gave $1m).

Parsley's request has been smaller, but no less theatrical: "Will you help me take back what the devil stole?" The problem with Parsley's request is that the "devil" in this case was a two-year-old whose parents won a $3m law suit against World Harvest Ministries because he was disciplined way too harshly at Parsley's Church's day care center ("Cuddle Care")

... and beaten by the same man who years earlier was accused of the same abuse in the same place! Rod Parsley is evidently not a good judge of character. In the first incident, Richard Vaughan, an employee of the school, but with no background or license to teach, insisted that the child received a skull fracture in a tussle with another two-year-old!

from Right Wing Watch:

The ruling stated that "Vaughan's trial testimony regarding the incident was inconsistent both with previous accounts he gave and with the testimony of other witnesses" and that nobody from WHC even inquired about any injuries supposedly suffered by the other child (E.Y.) and that "E.Y.'s father insisted his son had not collided with Z.C. and had not been injured in any incident with Z.C."

And as horrific as that incident might seem, the Faietas (parents of the child in the lawsuit) found out that trying to approach Parsley or anyone else at World Harvest Ministries would result in a total shutout:

When, however, Lacey Faieta returned to WHC two days later and attempted to meet and discuss the matter with Jack Johnson, WHC's headmaster, he refused, telling her he had been advised not to speak with the Faietas. The next week WHC sent the Faietas a letter ordering them not to come on the property and threatening them with criminal prosecution for trespass if they returned to the school. The letter contained no exceptions and provided the Faietas with no means to schedule any further meetings with WHC personnel. The Faietas received no further communication from WHC.

For more detailed coverage, read Pam's House Blend ("The Devil Stole Rod Parsley's Brain") or Right Wing Watch.

Oral Roberts was the founder of the "prosperity gospel" game and was eulogized by the likes of Pat Robertson and Joel Osteen. He was also one of the leaders of Christofascism and through his school, ORU (Oral Roberts University) gave us such outstanding Christian leaders as Ted Haggard, Kathie Lee Gifford, Kenneth Copeland, Michele Bachmann and Ned Flanders.

So now that Oral Roberts is dead, who is going to take the mantle of "world's greatest moralizing moron?" My bets are on Pat Robertson. True, he does not pronounce the word "anus" like Roberts did ("ah-nus") and it's more than likely that Robertson will be declared totally senile by his son Gordon, but Robertson is more well-known than his son and after his passing, my bets will be on Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son and stern Fundamentalist friend to non other than the Divine Sarah (no, not Bernhardt, but Palin.)

Then again, the title of "world's greatest moalizing moron" might just go to Rod Parsley. After all, calling a justifiable child abuse settlement a "demonically inspired financial attack," keeping a child abuser in his employ at the same position after a serious attack, telling his congregation that the USA was founded in order to eradicate Islam and spewing militaristic phrases that hint of religious intolerance and violence, well, those actions might be construed as both moralizing and stupid.

Of course, the race is still running and there are more Ted Haggards and Jimmy Swaggarts to be found out.

Stay tuned...

There Is NO War On Christmas! Jesus Told Me So!

Actually, He said:

"Huh? What War On Christmas?
Are Limbaugh And O'Reilly At It AGAIN?"

I decorated the Christmas tree tonight. Like a cartoon character, I got tangled in lights, needed a new power strip, and had to race to Walgreens to get more white lights. As with most American households, I wanted my Christmas tree to look perfect: it was not going to look as if it had swallowed all the colored lights first. I was organized and resourceful last year, so there were no real surprises when I opened all of the other Christmas Crud boxes. It had me feeling a little gypped, to tell you the truth. What's Christmas like without sifting through bad ornaments to look for good ones? Moreover, what's Christmas like without all of the beautiful, tacky, cheap, glitzy, poignant, crass decorations we've acquired through the years?

Christmas trees and their decorations can be the mirrors of our true selves: we prominently display the best ornaments in the front while we place the crappy ones (or, just not as beautiful) in the back. I remember one particular ornament that never made it to the front: a flat, brown teddy bear dressed as a nurse. And it was sticking its red tongue out. It took a change of partners for me to get rid of the strange thing. But that's the thing about Christmas - the sentiment is so strong that you never throw out even the worst, most threadbare, tarnished, half-broken ornaments. Why?

Because at Christmastime, even the battered and ugly ornaments seem to have souls.

Today I read another article about the "War On Christmas" instigated by the sacred cows of the Christian Right. Is saying "Merry Christmas" so important that today's right-wing talk show bloviators and pulpit pimps have taken to ostracizing those who say "Happy Holidays?" Over the years, the concept of Christmas has transcended the birthday celebration of a religious icon. Perhaps that's why the Christian Right is furious over the inclusion of everyone into the "season of giving": the ideology of "Peace On Earth, Good Will Towards Men" has overshadowed the babe in the manger and they feel slighted. After all, they are a self-righteously arrogant lot that keeps reminding us that they have cornered the market on goodness ("It's the Christian thing to do!").

And they certainly don't want other holidays to be mixed in with theirs! "Why, saying 'Happy Holidays' instead of 'Merry Christmas' is downright sacrilegious! It's positively un-American! Christmas is a Christians Only holiday! Exclusivity is our right!

But who knew that such an exclusive holiday would become a worldwide peacekeeper (if only for one day)? Who knew that one day out of the year would garner hosts of goodwill and, most important of all, compassion? Can't the Christian Right be a bit more generous with one of their core philosophies? Then again, they seem to be a people fixated with their own persecution: "War on Christmas" "War against Marriage" "War against the Unborn." But who's going to tell them that there is no "War" except for the one they themselves are waging against inclusion?

Are they the only ones who discard old, unwanted Christmas tree decorations?

Yes, there is a war: on inclusion, on open-mindedness, on universal acceptance. Today's family values include more people in the family than any Christian Right family reunion picnic. "Extended" families are just that: strongly bonded extensions of the core, whatever that core may be. And today's Christmas recognizes the love between individuals more than ever before. That, of course, makes the Christian Right seethe in rage. To them, the meaning of Christmas is only about their ideals and the way they want to see those ideals performed.

So if The Christian Right is involved in a war, the only war it is fighting is the "War on Universal Love."

Thanks for reading.

Dan Vojir

PS:
For all my friends and readers I have a small, homemade Holiday gift created with the help of my late love of gardening. It's a series of photos I pasted together for several of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker melodies. The last one is performed for you by the San Francisco Faerie Portal. It depicts how the faeries magically celebrate Christmas Eve.

All the flowers of our home
and the faeries of the portal wish you all
the Happiest of Holidays!